By Mitch Gaynor
HAS anyone noticed the unexpected ability of friends and loved ones to suddenly be able to express themselves in wonderfully coherent ways?
It’s almost as though they’ve been literate for their entire adult lives.
But how did I miss this for so long? How did they hide it for so long?
For anyone reading various social media posts these days, the truth is out there.
Suddenly people can express themselves in strangely legible, safe and tidy ways.
It’s often sincere, earnest, factual and literal, but there’s something off about it. And that’s because we suspect what we’re reading is not much more that an outsourced expression of an idea.
It’s the curse of AI and probably ChatGPT that we are willing to hand over our critical thinking.
Unfortunately if AI is the sum of human expression, it turns out to be hopelessly vanilla.
The more polished the post the more we wonder and the more we have to ask, who really wrote this?
I’ve seen countless posts from perfectly fine people who are clearly just plugging their thoughts into AI.
It’s not pretty but you have to wonder what the end game is. Do they really believe they are going to be more efficient, better humans? Don’t fall for the AI marketing!
It’s understandable that people aspire to have the wisdom of Aristotle and the historical breadth of Encyclopedia Britannica (to show my age), but in this instance, imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery.
Instead this imitation is flattening of everything: intelligence, information, a voice and personality.
It’s virtue-signalling, intentional and kind of just rubbish.
It got me thinking of The Life of Brian – “We are all individuals” the crowd chants as Brian urges everyone to get out and think for themselves.
At a time when everything can be so perfect, maybe we should aspire for less and accept the real word and all our imperfections more important than ever.
Let’s embrace the average again.
Because exceptionalism is, if not impossible to grasp for a moment, impossible to maintain.
In other words: stop faking it ‘til you make it.
May marks Small Business Month , a timely reminder of the quiet force underpinning our local economy.
As a local media outlet and small business, Glasshouse Country & Maleny News sees it every day: long hours, small teams, and the juggle behind the shopfront.
These businesses aren’t just economic drivers, they’re the backbone of our communities. They employ locals, sponsor clubs, and keep towns ticking.
This month we recognise that effort. Support our local businesses because they support us back – plain and simple.
That’s a circular economy that actually works. Turn to our feature on pages 10–11. Shop local. Keep it real. Keep it here. That’s what builds strong towns long term locally.